T'is me again :)

Good grief, another month has passed, so this may need a cuppa tea and a sit down to read :):).  When I checked in to write a post today, the format has completely changed which has thrown me a bit but hey ho, will see if this is the new and improved, lol.   The last time I wrote I was in the midst of a lurgy - well it took four days to come right and had the energy of a wet noodle.  Back to work for two 12 hour days on the weekend after having used two of my days off being sick,  grr , and was ok but still not feeling 100%.  I worked Monday as well and came home, and had cold corned beef ready to go with a new salad I was creating with courgettes and hazelnuts, followed by FRESH mango for dessert.  I ate my dinner but it felt heavy on my stomach, nothing to worry about, just did not feel yippity skip like I thought I would after having such a healthy repast.  Can't remember now what time I went to bed, but remember still feeling a bit meh so read for a bit and tried to get comfortable.  I believe I did doze off but woke around 3.30am having gone from feeling meh to distinctly queasy. While the neurons and synapses of my sluggish brain were trying to do a check through 1000 diseases I could have been suffering from, I had the distinct urge at 3.45am to propel myself henceforth from my place of repose, in a lightening dash to the loo whereupon I was sick.  Ok, I thought to myself heading back to bed, hopefully that was it, but oh no...... for the next four hours I alternated at each end spending very close acquaintance with the porcelain bowl by which time I stopped throwing up but for most of the next day, kept the seat warm with my various trips back and forth.  There are 25 steps from my bed to the loo, (for those playing at home, lol) - that is what I was reduced to as there was not much else I was comprehending at the time apart from muttering imprecations and a pox on those staff members who had bought the gastric bug to work.  So, twice in two weeks I had two days off sick - the shock of that was nearly enough to carry me off.  I spent the next 24 hours, apart from trips hither and yon to aforementioned porcelain, flat on my back in bed.  I think I may have had a couple of sips of water - before friend Donna, bless her, delivered a bottle of lemonade to my door step (I was asleep at the time I think but she would not have been allowed in regardless, lol, all very prevent the plague behaviour at the time).  The next day, I also lay in bed again, this time sipping lemonade and nibbling on some plain biscuits I found in the cupboard.  I dropped 2.7k during this time !!!! and even now am not feeling like a whole lot of food at any given time, sticking mainly to fresh if possible.  If I thought I was unwell at the last time of writing, this time I thought I was dying.  

Several things have happened over the past weeks that now give me regular dates to affix to my calender.  I am not sure whether I mentioned going to a psychic fair some two months ago now.  Friend Donna turned up one afternoon and on a whim, we decided to shoot out to have a look around at the fair. After looking at several stalls, I decided to have a reading from one of the clairvoyants sprinkled around the main room and having fixed my eye on someone who seemed to be doing a roaring business, I wandered round the room and ended up in front of someone completely different.  The reading was interesting, I was told I was lacking in energy (ya think) that if I had a list of things to do, I may get the first one done but maybe not.  After a few more observations from the woman concerned I asked if she was living in my head as she was accurate in all that she said. She did a brief healing on me as I was leaving and I decided to go back the next day and went to a different person who did used crystals for another healing re-energizing blast.  I was so tired that day by the time I got home I did nothing but sleep but OMG the next week went like a dervish about the place. It transpired that the first woman I saw  (Judith) was in fact a Kiwi and in the old six degrees of separation, had attended Waikato University, doing an art therapy course with a woman I had worked with at the then Presbyterian Support group (during my social work training).  It also happened that Judith was going to run a weekend course on alternative healing which coincided with one of my weekends off, so I attended that and had a ball.  The very short version is that she holds a group once a week so that folk can continue building on their skills which I have been able to attend in and around different shifts (doing the course was where we made the Waikato connecton).  Through that course I met another woman who in idle chat said she was going to attend a Rotary breakfast meeting (a couple of weeks ago now) and lo and behold,  has presented me with the opportunity to attend her group for the past three weeks. 

I belonged to the Fairfield chapter of Rotary before I began the Aussie segment of my life and at the back of my mind over the past few months has been the thought to get involved with a community organisation again so was more than happy to be invited along.  The meetings are held at the Geraldton club which is a big old building across the road from the waterfront so we begin the morning with a coffee on the balcony watching the town start the day.  The meeting gathers at 6.45am finishing at 8am so its an early start, lol. I was introduced around to several people on the first morning and then as we gathered to start the meeting, I was struck by a horrible thought, OMG am I going to have to sing the Australian national anthem each week, and if so, can I do it....... At home we always finished our meeting standing singing God Defend New Zealand so there was my rather large dilemma the only words I know to the aussie national anthem are "girt by sea" and "advance Australia fair".  Michelle, who took me laughed when I asked her and said no they didn't do that, (phew) I was more than relieved as we had just beaten the Wallabies the weekend before where I had loudly been singing our national anthem with the telly on full volume at work, with a baby in my arms, telling him to be very afraid when he heard that song when he grew up, lol.  They do toast the flag to start off the meeting and I can drink to that without too much worry I think though it has been so quick I have almost missed it to date.  I was made very welcome and had automatic friends  at the next weeks meeting when three other members arrived wearing All Black colours to celebrate the World Cup win, woohoo.  So now there are four kiwis infiltrating the ranks, heh heh. 

Last meeting, we had a chap come and talk to us about being part of the yacht race following the path of the old clipper ships, navigating the world right now.  All the yachts were docked in Geraldton for several days last week before leaving for Tauranga, NZ their next stop.  Each yacht is built exactly the same, with a crew of 18.  The captain of each yacht is a professional sailor and all the others are volunteers or people who want to experience either the whole race or segments of it.  It costs forty English pounds to do the whole race so not for the economically challenged.  Whilst the yachts were in port here, they were open at times for the public to visit and also took folk out on the ocean for short trips under sail to have an amazing experience.  It was fascinating to hear how 18 folk managed their days and the minimal space, two people rotating sleep in the bunks provided as the other was on deck sailing.  The chap who came to talk to us had lost 13 kilos in weight since leaving England, as meals were mostly rice or pasta and consumed quickly.  The yachts had sailed through the roaring 40's to get here and he said it was so cold that he sais wore 9 layers of clothing to bed and was still cold while sailing through there. 

In between all this, in a bid to try and manage a more healthy approach to life whilst being a shift worker, I have once again trekked back to Weight watchers.  Donna (I know, she appears in most of these life changing moments, lol) wanted company to go along to meetings and again fortuitously, it was at the same time I was wanting to get things back on track.  They have changed the program since I last was on it probably about 5 or 6 yrs ago now and while I love it that fruit is free points, have not got my head entirely around the new way of doing things.  I must be doing reasonably ok as have managed to lose 4k along the way.  It makes life much easier at work , having to eat three proper meals a day with any amount of fruit that I want in between if I am hungry instead of cramming food in on the run.  I have picked up energy (a small amount, lol), and am eating more fresh food, without getting hungry in between and not even wanting rubbish food, not when you can have enough of it to fit in your eye instead of  nearly your body weight in the foods that are good for you.  Have been having fun with smoothies - 1/2 cup of plain yogurt, 1/2 cup skim milk, frozen banana with a variety of other fruit to hand (strawberries, peaches etc) drop of vanilla and have been putting dollops of ww jelly in and then blitzing with one of those hand held whizz things.  Makes massive amounts to drink and it is like a meal all by itself.  I was told the trick of peeling bananas and wrapping individually in glad wrap to freeze and it works a treat to thicken without having dollops of ice instead.  The jelly gives colour and sweetness, and when blitzed and drunk immediately, you would never know it was in it.  Things took a bit of a hiding this week as I have just been at conference for two days with work and all they offered was prepackaged, pasties and such like,  but back on track this morning so all good.

Am back at work this afternoon after having a week off for annual leave which was when I had planned on going south with Jude which unfortunately did not come off in the end.  She got offered two weeks work cooking for a shearing gang which she couldn't refuse and in the end it worked out well for me as I have been catching up on a heap of things off my to do list.   I am in the process of getting four years of taxes sorted out - that involved four days going through receipts and papers going back to my arrival - two rubbish bin sacks full of rubbish and on the fourth day, found the last two papers I needed for my Aussi paper work.  Got two new tyres on the car, the front right hand wheel had a slow leak so kept needing to get it pumped up, so decided it was a good time to get things checked out.  It transpires that the other two back tyres need to be upgraded as well and that will be on next weeks list.  They do not have Warrant of Fitness over here so no cause to get your car checked for safety any time unless the car is over a certain age.  The chap at the tyre place said all the tyres were in a parlous state and if stopped by the cops for anything, my car would have been yellow stickered as unsafe so a lucky save there and should be set for another year at least after the upgrade. 

Am looking at the time and need to make tracks to get ready for work, can't wait to catch up with the kids and see how much the babies have grown while I have been away. Was going to add some photos but will leave that until the weekend I think when I have more time.  Will aim for another post by next Monday with photos :):)